Differentiating among terrorists ridiculous: Leader Advisor

A senior advisor to Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, says terrorists are all one and the same and it would be ridiculous to categorize them into "moderates and extremists."

“Certain Western governments, reactionary governments in the region and the US have categorized terrorist groups as moderate and extremist [terrorists] which is utterly ridiculous,” Ali Akbar Velayati said in a Sunday meeting with Russian Ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan.

He added that such a categorization is just a “pretext” to ostensibly fight a given a terrorist group while supporting certain other extremist and Takfiri groups to perpetuate their evil acts in the region.

“We believe that in addition to Daesh [ISIL], which is backed by Israel, the US and certain regional countries, any type of extremism and any kind of terrorist groups should be confronted,” added Velayati, who is the president of the Iranian Expediency Council's Center for Strategic Research.He pointed to the presence of Iran and Russia in some regional countries and noted that cooperation with the legitimate Syrian and Iraqi governments is based on their request.

However, he said, some reactionary regional states are training terrorists and providing them with support without any mandates.

Velayati stressed the importance of adopting strategies and showing the necessary determination to fight all types of terrorism.

The senior Iranian official also urged the expansion of all-out and long-term relations with Russia.

“The two countries can have robust cooperation to solve regional and international problems,” he said.

The Russian envoy, for his part, provided a report on the cooperation between the two countries and stressed the need for more mutual interaction in the fight against ISIL Takfiris and further tapping into Tehran and Moscow's capacities.

The ISIL Takfiri group has been wreaking havoc in some Middle Eastern countries, mainly Syria and Iraq. The Takfiri group has also expanded its roots in the African countries of Egypt and Libya. The terrorist group also poses a threat to Western countries.

Several foreign governments, including some regional states, have been blamed for supporting the ISIL militants.